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Heating costs: Habeck expects dramatic increase
Due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck expects a dramatic increase in heating costs in autumn. Meanwhile, he fears that the debate about this could endanger social peace in Germany. Habeck fears for social peace On the ZDF programme Maybritt Illner, Habeck said: “We will see a…
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Biden declares emergency on power supply
On 6 June, the White House in Washington released US President Biden’s emergency executive order on electricity generation capacity. The President of the United States Joseph R.Biden Jr. is using the executive order to declare an emergency with respect to the threat to the availability of sufficient electricity generation capacity to meet anticipated customer demand.…
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Thieves steal tons of cables from wind turbines
Thieves have found a new source for stealing copper: Wind turbines. Several tonnes of copper cable are laid in modern wind turbines and have thus become interesting for copper thieves. The police receive reports of such thefts almost weekly. Thieves steal copper because the metal, like many other metals, is currently in short supply and…
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Energy turnaround into a dead end
Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck is working on the energy turnaround and the decarbonisation of Germany to avert climate catastrophe. The goal is 100 % renewable energy in a few years. However, Habeck’s “Easter package” on the energy transition leaves many questions unanswered. In 2021, wind and solar energy accounted for only 5 %…
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Nobel laureate: Nuclear phase-out is a stupid idea
In an interview with Bild, the American Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz mercilessly reckons with the German energy transition. He considers the simultaneous German coal and nuclear phase-out a stupid idea. This is not the first time that German energy policy has been called stupid abroad. The Wall Street Journal already published an article on…
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EU wants to auction more CO2 certificates
Climate protection has always been the top priority of the EU Commission. Drastic restrictions on exhaust fumes from combustion engines, up to and including a ban on them, as well as mandatory renovation of buildings, have been on the agenda time and again. Yet the EU wants to be completely climate-neutral by 2045. Now the…
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Food price increases not yet over
As a recent study shows, producer prices for food have risen much faster than retail prices in supermarkets. Increased energy prices are particularly responsible for this. It is therefore foreseeable that food prices will continue to rise in the near future. The price increase is likely to be even higher than before. Trade expert expected…
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The economic miracle brings nuclear power plants
In the years before the Second World War, the networks grow together rapidly. Industry largely switches from being driven by steam engines to electric motors. The electricity required for this is produced in coal-fired and hydroelectric power plants. In private households, the electrical supply is limited almost exclusively to lighting and, during the war, to…
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Graduated model for the CO₂ tax on housing
The CO₂ tax on housing is to distribute the burden fairly between landlords and tenants via a graduated model. The proposal from the governing traffic light coalition provides that the share for landlords decreases the better a flat or house is insulated. Tenants would pay almost nothing for uninsulated houses. Presentation of the relay model…
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Bundeskartellamt criticises design flaw in petrol rebate
The fuel rebate, which will apply from 1 June 2022 and which the federal government is financing with a gigantic tax cut, did indeed lead to falling prices at the pump. However, the effect was somewhat smaller than planned. It was supposed to be 35.2 ct/l less for petrol (Super E10) and 16.7 ct/l less…
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Russia turns off the gas tap to Denmark
Denmark refuses to pay for gas deliveries from Russia in roubles. That is why Gazprom no longer delivers gas to the Danes. Two German companies have found another way to pay the bills. As of Wednesday, 1 June, Gazprom will no longer supply gas to the Danish gas supplier Ørsted. Shell Energy Europe is also…
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Federal government wants to import coal from Colombia
Russia is not only Germany’s largest supplier of natural gas and oil, but also of hard coal. With the boycott of Russian energy sources, the Minister of Economics is therefore looking for ways to find alternative suppliers abroad. In the case of coal, he has now found one in Colombia. Environmental organisations and human rights…
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The energy transition eats up our resources
Economics Minister Habeck wants to massively accelerate the expansion of renewable energies in order to achieve the specified climate protection goals. The war in Ukraine now adds the argument of independence from Russian energy sources. This is why Economics Minister Robert Habeck is pushing for the expansion of PV plants and wind turbines. However, a…
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Now the Netherlands is also no longer getting gas from Russia
After Poland, Bulgaria and Finland, Russia has now also stopped natural gas deliveries to the Netherlands. The reason is the Dutch refusal to pay for Russian supplies in roubles. The Kremlin is thus escalating the dispute over payment with another step. Denmark could be the next country to be affected by the suspension of gas…
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EU states decide on oil embargo
The EU states have decided on an oil embargo against Russia. As is so often the case with such decisions, however, there is a compromise with several exceptions. For example, at Hungary’s request, oil deliveries through pipelines are not to be affected. Therefore. Germany and Poland now want to voluntarily renounce deliveries through pipelines. EU…